January 24, 2000
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT: Sayeed Choudhury
sayeed@jhu.edu
(410) 516-4930

MINOLTA'S PS 3000 FACE-UP BOOK SCANNER USED IN
ROBOT AUTOMATED BOOK RETRIEVAL SYSTEM

CAPM System to Provide Real-time Browsability of Library Collections

Minolta is strengthening its commitment to supporting library sciences by participating, along with a group of international corporations, in Johns Hopkins University’s Comprehensive Access to Print Materials (CAPM) project. Because of overcrowded facilities, due to growing print collections and increased use of electronic resources, many libraries have had to move parts of their collection to off-site storage facilities where access is limited and difficult. CAPM’s goal is to improve access to library and information resources and ease budgetary and space restrictions in libraries by maximizing the use of off-site storage facilities.

Minolta Corporation’s Office Systems Sales and Marketing Division is supporting the CAPM project by providing four PS 3000 Face-up Publication Scanners to Johns Hopkins.

"We were pleased that Johns Hopkins wanted to use the PS 3000 for its CAPM initiative and approached us about participating with them," said Bud Murphy, senior vice president and general manager, Office Systems Sales and Marketing Division, Minolta Corporation. "Minolta has a long history of developing technology for libraries. We developed the PS 3000 to help libraries balance the increased demands for public access with their commitment to preserving collections for future generations. The goals of CAPM project and the capabilities of the PS 3000 are a perfect match."

CAPM Overview

The Johns Hopkins University’s Sheridan Libraries and Whiting School of Engineering is spearheading the CAPM project with collaboration from the Economics Department at the University of Colorado at Boulder. CAPM’s goal is to develop cost-effective, real-time, enhanced browsing and search capabilities for off-site library materials. CAPM uses robots, scanners, high-speed telecommunications and software to deliver scanned images of books to library patrons using a web browser.

Here is a description of how the CAPM system would be used.

1. A patron would search for an item using a library management system via a Web browser.
2. An item would be identified as being located in an off-site facility.
3. The patron would choose the CAPM option.
4. CAPM software would transmit a request for the item to be retrieved and delivered to the PS 3000 for scanning.
5. The requested item would be retrieved and delivered to the PS 3000 scanning station by robot systems.
6. The requested pages would be scanned, converted to full-text by OCR software and indexed with software.
7. Digital images of the pages would be sent across the network and displayed on the patron’s browser.
8. The patron would then view additional pages, print pages, ask the system to return the item to shelving or request the item for physical delivery, perhaps through interlibrary loan.

CAPM chose the PS 3000 for the scanning component because, unlike all other scanners on the market, instead of damaging books during the scanning process, the face-up scanning method protects a book’s spine. "Because we can’t rip these books apart to scan them, finding a unit that scanned the books face-up was very appealing. Then to find out that the same scanner offered page curvature correction and spine support was like icing on the cake," said Sayeed Choudhury, Project Director, CAPM.

Project Status

CAPM is a two-year project. Small-scale prototypes of the item retrieval/delivery and page turning devices are being developed and tested using different books, to ensure that the system can accommodate a range of book sizes.

The next step is to implement a user survey that will identify user preferences and value of benefits from the CAPM system. This survey was developed with input from noted librarians, economists and engineers during a workshop in 1999. The results of this survey, along with the engineering economic analysis of costs will be presented during a follow-up workshop later this year.

Minolta Corporation

Minolta’s Business Products Group (BPG) headquartered in Ramsey, New Jersey, was formed in 1996 to bring together United States and Canadian marketing efforts on Minolta Corporation’s digital and analog office equipment. Minolta’s BPG products include analog copiers, digital color and black and white printer/copiers, plain-paper laser facsimile machines, document imaging systems, electronic image and information management systems and computer peripheral products.

Minolta Corporation’s Consumer Products Group (CPG) markets film cameras, digital cameras, binoculars, accessory lenses, photographic meters, 35mm and Advanced Photo System film scanners and other consumer products. Minolta is the exclusive distributor of Cokin filters and PC-FM!

Minolta Corporation is the largest subsidiary of Minolta Co. Ltd. of Osaka, Japan. More information is available at Minolta’s web site.

All brand names are trademarks and/or registered trademarks of their respective companies.

Contact Information for Minolta Corporation:
Leo Derkowski/Michelle H. Burke/Mary Lohmeier-Hass
MC2 Minolta Corporation
(518)477-2575
(201)934-5256
mcc@marcomcon.com
mlohmeier-hass@minolta.com

The Sheridan Libraries encompass the Milton S. Eisenhower Library and its collections at the Hutzler Reading Room, Garrett Library and the George Peabody Library.

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